Friday, December 19, 2003
Friday, December 19, 2003 |
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Christmas traditions By DAVID EPPS Christmas season is a time of the year when traditions are begun, maintained, and passed on. Most people have special memories of the Christmas holidays and almost all of these recollections are based on continuing traditions. For example, when I was a boy, my family always went to Grandpa and Grandma Duckett’s for Christmas Eve. My “real” maternal grandfather was a man named Roy Luster. He married Pashia Tunnell and fathered three daughters. He died when all three of his girls were barely toddlers. Eventually, Pashia met and married Charles Daniel Duckett while the girls were still small. As far as I was concerned, Charles always was my “real” Grandpa, though he wasn’t my biological grandparent. Blanch, the oldest girl, married Ray Flynn and had a son, Danny. My mom, Kathleen, was next in line and married William (Bill) Epps, Jr. and had two boys, myself and my younger brother Wayne. Ruby was the youngest. She married John Honeycutt and they had three kids, Johnny, Pashie, and Jeff. We all gathered at the Ducketts each and every Christmas Eve. We ate, played, sometimes shot off bottle rockets and firecrackers, and exchanged presents. It was a tradition. At my house, Christmas morning began early with being awake at 4 a.m. and having to stay in bed until 7:30 a.m. when my parents would finally open the door and permit us to run into the living room. A flurry of package-opening ensued and a big breakfast always followed. The rest of the day was spent playing with our new toys. We weren’t rich by any means but we always had lots of stuff. Later, I married Cynthia Douglas and we had three kids of our own. From 1971 until 1980, we pretty much kept going to Grandpa and Grandma’s for Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was spent at our house, then the Douglas home, and finally my parents’ house (or vice versa). On Dec. 26, 1980, we moved from Tennessee to Colorado and, in June 1983, to Georgia, and our traditions changed. For one thing, church activities became much more important during the Christmas season. Our boys were raised hearing the songs of the season (“O Holy Night,” “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and many more), and quickly got used to spending Christmas Eve in worship services. Christmas Day was still a time to ravage the presents. The boys got older and moved out. Jason, the oldest, married Jessica Pierce (Paula to most of her friends) and had two children, Victoria and Isaac with a third child on the way. John, next in line, is married to July Barnes and their household consists of Tristan, Samuel, Jacqueline, and Payton. Both of the older sons live in or around Senoia. James, our youngest, is in the United States Air Force and is stationed in Texas. Naturally, traditions have changed once again. Now, Cindy and I sleep in on Christmas Day and await the arrival of the kids and grandkids who will fit us into the schedule somehow as they juggle the competing traditions of other family members. I will build a fire in the fireplace with real oak logs and Cindy will, at some point, prepare the Christmas breakfast that we may not eat until 3 p.m., or whenever everyone arrives. Most years, however, we will all, hopefully, be together on Christmas Eve. Eight years ago, our church began a Christmas Eve Communion Service. Back then, we were a tiny congregation meeting in a funeral home chapel and had no idea if anyone would come to a funeral home for Christmas Eve services. I expected about eight people. Sixty showed up. We continued the tradition, the service grew in attendance, and, this year, we will gather in our new sanctuary at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. If the pattern runs true, about a third to a half of the people who attend our Christmas Eve service will not be members of our church. We advertise that “everyone is welcome” and people seem to take us at our word. We will sing the traditional songs of the season, read the Christmas story (the REAL one, not the “’Twas the Night before Christmas” fable), maybe have the small children sing a song, listen to a short sermon, and receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, or, as it is known in other churches, “Holy Communion,” or “The Lord’s Supper.” While some churches are very restrictive on who can receive Communion, we believe that “The Lord’s Table” is His and not ours so we serve any and every baptized believer. It’s the one service of the year that we do not have a nursery so that ALL the family can be together. If the babies cry, so be it. The season is about a baby, after all. It would be a shame to exclude them. Besides, the babies grow up and, down the road, recall their own traditions, including receiving Communion each Christmas Eve. And, as far as I am concerned, being in church, with God’s people, worshipping Him and celebrating His love and his presence, is the one thing that is even better than being at Grandpa and Grandma’s on a Christmas Eve. [Father David Epps is pastor of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church (www.ctkcec.org) on Ga. Highway 34, between Peachtree City and Newnan. Worship services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sundays. The Christmas Eve Communion Service begins at 7 p.m. and all are welcome. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com.] |